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GREYWOLF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Third-graders in Sheri Burke, Pat Quinet and Aaron Reno’s classes wanted to find a “giving project,” in the spirit of the holiday season. They chose to provide new Christmas-themed pajamas for all the children in the Birth-to-3 Head Start program at Sequim Community School. The students raised enough money to purchase 40 pairs of pajamas, then wrapped and labeled each pair of pajamas according to size and boy or girl. They were very proud and happy to be of service to the community!
— Sheri Burke, teacher

HELEN HALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
■ Cheryl Daniels-Labbe’s fourth-grade class received an extra sweet treat just before winter break. Retired teacher Sue Clary and her son Joe Morton served the class tea and iced sugar cookies made by her daughter Sara Daniels as the story “A Cup of Christmas Tea” by Tom Hegg was read aloud. The story emphasizes the importance of giving of yourself to others and illustrates that the best presents in life are not necessarily found wrapped under a Christmas tree. The students thoroughly enjoyed the ritual of sipping tea from real tea cups from Clary’s private collection and conversing politely with each other.
— Cheryl Daniels-Labbe, teacher

■ Pam Landoni’s fourth-grade class is learning strategies for elaborating on ideas in their writing. Below are a few examples of students using statistics (numbers) and facts as one way to elaborate.

Sharks are the beasts of the ocean and they rule the seas. Everyone knows something about sharks, but here are some extreme facts. First of all, sharks will kill anything that is bleeding. They have super high-tech noses that will smell a drop of blood from a mile away. The nasal cavities on the sides of their nose help them detect the direction of the blood. Also, their noses are extremely sensitive because of organs that detect slight water-pressure disturbances. Therefore, don’t think you are going to sense a shark.
Sharks can feel water movement up to 10 feet away. In addition, these animals have some surprisingly large features. The biggest recorded shark was a whale shark at 50 feet long. This same shark also has the biggest mouth, which is 4 feet wide. Sharks can have up to 3,000 killer teeth that are typically placed in five rows. Seals are their favorite meal, as sharks like to eat fatty, easy-to-swallow prey because they don’t have molars.
Sharks have been known to attack people because of their poor eyesight. Since sharks have poor eyesight, they probe with their mouths. Probing is taking a large bite or gulp of whatever they can’t determine by eyesight. They just bite and swallow. This is why sharks attack humans; they think we are seals. By the time they bite, their saw-blade teeth already have caused serious injury. To top it off, sharks have a strong bite. The strongest bite goes to the dusky shark with 133 pounds of force, making them extreme killers. The lesson to avoiding shark attacks is to avoid moving or bleeding in the water.
— by Brenden Jack

People should help protect whales, dolphins and porpoises. There are 80 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), seven out of 13 whale species are endangered or vulnerable. Whales, dolphins and porpoises are succumbing to new and increasing dangers. These dangers include pollution, effects of climate change and habitat degradation. Each year over 1,000 whales are killed for the commercial market.
To help protect the future of the world’s whales, dolphins and porpoises, WWF is developing an ambitious conservation program. WWF is lobbying to bring whale hunting under strict control. WWF is doing research, education and is improving international action and agreements. We should help WWF with their work to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises.
— by Emily Glenn
— Pam Landoni, teacher

SEQUIM COMMUNITY SCHOOL
First Teacher activities:
Monday, Jan. 10 – Reading Time with community volunteer Charlotte Frazier at 10:30 a.m. Every child attending Reading Time receives a free book. Drop in from 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 11 – WIC (Women, Infants and Children). For more information about the WIC program, contact Pam Walker at 417-2275.
Friday, Jan. 14 – School Birth to Age Six Psychologist Catharine Foxlee gives the first of a three-part series about Sibling Rivalry, offered at 10:30 a.m. each Friday through Jan. 28. Child care is available. Call 582-3428 or 681-2250 to reserve a spot for Jan. 14, Jan. 21 and Jan. 28.
— Cynthia Martin, director, and Chase Hill, Vista volunteer

SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL
■ Sage Brown, a senior and student in the Sequim High School multimedia program, has been selected as the Puget Sound Off contest winner for designing a web banner for Human Rights Day, which was observed on Dec. 10. The winning banner was chosen by the office of councilman Mike O’Brien. The contest was sponsored by Puget SoundOff.org, City of Seattle Office of Civil Rights and O’Brien’s office. Brown will receive an iPod Touch and a Jawbone headset. Her banner submission was hand-drawn using a Wacom Tablet and Adobe Photoshop CS5. More information is available at www.pugetsoundoff.org/.
— Charles Kleinberg, multimedia instructor

Basketball tickets can be purchased at the high school main office from Jan. 10-13 for the Sequim vs. Port Angeles basketball games on Jan. 13. Prices are as follows: $6 for adult/student without ASB card, $4 for senior citizens/visiting students with ASB card, $16 for a one-time family pass.
— Janet A. Peterson, bookkeeper/secretary

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